Today whilst Michele headed off for a coffee in Uzumlu I took a ride up to Kadyanda (Cadianda). It’s an old Lycian city on the hills overlooking Uzumlu and can be reached by either walking trail or by road. The walking trails lead up through the centre of the town before splitting up to reach Kadyanda (Cadianda) from different sides of the hill. The vehicular road to Kadyanda (Cadianda) turns off the Uzumlu to Ören road.
Along the road out to Cadianda an old Roman water well stands beside the road. It’s a bit different to the ones we’ve seen further north and although its made from brick and stone, it hasn’t been whitewashed. The access road to Kadyanda (Cadianda) has recently been covered in a thin layer of asphalt to improve accessibility, but the asphalt is covered in loose gravel so it’s a bit like riding on marbles. Logging operations are currently being conducted on the hill leading up to Kadyanda (Cadianda) and in some areas the heavily laden trucks have broken through the road surface.
The road eventually leads to a small car park and a hut containing ticket office and toilet. The entry fee was only 5 TL ($2.50 AUD) so very reasonable.
A well-defined track lined with stones leads up through the forest to the Necropolis. The Necropolis consists of a large number of black stone tombs of various shapes and sizes. On a few the greek style writing of the Lycians is still visible.
Mother Nature has reclaimed the area with pines, so the hillside is covered in pine needles. Leaving the trail to get a better look at some of the tombs was sometimes a little dangerous. The pine needles were pretty slippery and there were heaps of holes which exploration teams have left open.
Leaving the Necropolis the trail is a little rough as it picks over the rubble of the Heroon, a Roman era temple. A few other tourists were having a little problem with this area as they were only wearing flip flops, not the best type of footwear to be exploring in. Reaching the Heroon there were great views across to Fethiye and all the greenhouses which surround it. I also discovered that I should’ve brought a drink because the site is actually quite rugged in spots. Luckily the pines provided lots of shade.
The trail from the Heroon leads through a heavily forested area, past the remains of various buildings, including the Agora, before arriving at the substantial remains of the Bathhouse (Hamam). A large archway leads through the wall into the interior of the bathhouse. It’s hard to imagine what the area surrounding the bathhouse and Agora would’ve looked like with all the trees that now cover it. However, judging by the size of the bathhouse it would’ve been pretty built up.
Just beyond the bathhouse, in a clearing, is the stadium and ruins of a temple.
It’s hard to make heads or tails of the temple as it’s just a pile of rubble however, the scalloped remains of columns give a hint that it would’ve been a grand structure.
The trail down the hill winds past the ancient ramparts, where there’s great views across the valleys below.
Just when I thought I’d seen everything a theatre carved into the hillside came into view on the track below. It’d been almost completely excavated to remove centuries of soil which covered it. The theatre was quite intact with much of the front walls still standing. The location close to the city walls was quite interesting and made me reflect on some of the walled cities we’ve visited throughout our voyages through many countries.
After passing through the old city walls the path back to the car park was fairly good. Along the way I was contemplating the fors and against of visiting Kadyanda (Cadianda). Although Cadianda is only a 20 minute drive from Fethiye it’s a bit of a well kept secret. Most tourists who visit Fethiye or Antalya head to Xathos because it’s on the top ten list of things to do in Turkey. It’s also easily accessible. However, we really like places like Cadianda because you can explore them without a huge crush of tourists that you experience at sites like Xanthos. The road to Kadyanda (Cadianda) is quite well signposted so if you have your own transport it’s pretty easy to find.
There are a few jeep tour operators who run tours from Fethiye. Budget travellers who don’t have transport could simply catch the Dolmuś (little bus) to Uzumlu and simply follow the signs. The Dolmuś from Fethiye to Uzumlu runs quite frequently from the little bus station near the Big Mosque in Fethiye. The fare costs only 5 TL, so added with an entry fee of 5 TL a day out visiting Kadyanda (Cadianda) would only cost 15 TL ($7.50 AUD) or less than £ 4.
Seeing tourists struggling up some of the trails I would think Cadianda is not for the less able. However, with decent shoes, and a drink bottle exploring Kadyanda (Cadianda) is not beyond most people.
After spending a quite enjoyable half day exploring at Kadyanda (Cadianda) it was time to head back to Uzumlu for a well earned drink.
